Holiday Wrap Up

Christmas in South Carolina was wonderful. I think part of the reason my husband and I get along so well is that we have such similar families – the size is different, our living situations were different (his parents have lived in the same college town his whole life), but looking at a wider view of the world we are practically identical. We spent the weekend watching movies (including our wedding video, which we loved), making Christmas cookies, sneaking gifts around as obviously as possible, eating too much. It was very much like my family’s traditional Christmas, and I enjoyed it very much. I missed my family, of course, but not terribly, and I talked to them each in turn for at least 20 minutes apiece on Christmas day.

The big surprise, of course, was my piano. As we wandered into the room with the Christmas tree a little after 8 in the morning everyone else hung back behind me watching. I saw a small side table in the middle of the room with a bow on top and no nametag. I guessed it was for me – they’d all been pretty adamant that I not enter the room until everyone was ready because I had a large unwrappable present that I would see right away. I thought – “ah, what a cute side table – but where on earth will we put it?” Then I looked a little closer. Hmmmm. It looked more like a . . . piano bench . . . but could it be? I didn’t want to react wildly to a piano bench and then find out it was actually a side table and make everyone feel bad about not getting me a piano, so I crept towards it uncertainly while the rest of them just grinned at me. I sat down next to it and looked at my brother-in-law Clif with a question in my eyes. Somebody told me to open it up, for it was indeed a piano bench – and inside was a picture of my new piano and a book of sheet music. I leapt off the couch and hugged my husband with tears in my eyes. I have played since I was 6 but haven’t had a piano at my disposal since I was 21 and left the college practice rooms behind. I’ve wanted one for 7 years now, and everyone there knew it. Clif’s mother had owned a piano for years, but never learned to play, and he’d finally convinced her to sell it for a beyond reasonable price. My husband and in-laws – parents-in-law, siblings-in-law, grandparents-in-law – all went in on it together. I love it. It’s nestled into our tiny home now – it fits beautifully in our front room, and doesn’t even take up that much space. It was a complete surprise, and has already made a difference in my quality of life. As I stumble through pieces I haven’t practiced in years, I worry about poor Professor’s ears . . . but I’ll warm up and improve in no time! It’s like riding a bicycle! I can’t wait to play a concert for the people who bought it for us.

New Year’s Eve was similarly lovely. We drove up into the Carolina mountains and viewed the Christmas decorations at the Biltmore Estate, had a meal at an Asian Bistro in Asheville, and then headed to our hotel to pop a cork on some champagne and watch the ball drop. It was raining too hard to go out on the town, but I think we both enjoyed a quite night in – and I just aged 10 years for even thinking that sentence. The next day dawned bright, clear, and cold, and we drove around the Blue Ridge Parkway for a bit before heading home to our lonely cat, who vociferously protested our long absence and did figure eights between our legs for the first 3 hours we were home.

Despite my whining about the lack of time off, it was still a wonderful holiday season. My parents were very generous this year, too, cleaning up a lot of our unbought registry items and further stocking our kitchen. My siblings were thoughtful in their gift choices, and I think I made them all happy with what we got. It was just what a holiday should be – family, food, a warm log fire, thoughtful gift giving, and lots of love.

And now, on to post-holiday January, which gets pretty bleak after the Professor’s birthday on the 3rd. I’m already dreaming of spring!